Church’s Recruits Joe Christina As EVP of US Operations

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Jim Hyatt, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Church’s Chicken—the franchisor and operator of 1,700 restaurants around the world—has appointed Joe Christina as executive vice president of the chain’s U.S. operations, effective immediately.

Christina was most recently the senior vice president, North America western division of Burger King Restaurant Franchise operations. He was responsible for overseeing more than 2,000 restaurants. He implemented standards and operational best practices that reduced expenses and improved quality that generated an 8 percent increase in comp sales in multiple markets.

In his role, Christina delivered a 10 percent increase in operational excellence through new structure and targets, and improved cleanliness and friendliness scores and customer loyalty. He also improved customer satisfaction in franchise restaurants by directing and ensuring that the standards of the brand image were being maintained.

In addition, for underperforming restaurants, Christina put into effect remodeling and refranchising programs.

“Joe is the ultimate restaurant operations leader, who truly knows the importance of providing exceptional brand experiences for our customers and our restaurant teams,” Hyatt says. “We have similar backgrounds working in the quick-service restaurant industry and starting out early in our careers managing and eventually owning and operating our own restaurants.

“Joe has an outstanding ability to lead and develop people,” Hyatt adds. “Our franchisees and company operators will benefit tremendously from Joe Christina’s skills and his passion for operational excellence.”

Christina has the responsibility for all of Church’s restaurant operations, including operations services in the U.S. He is a member of Church’s executive team, reporting directly to Hyatt.

“I’m thrilled to join Church’s and work with Jim Hyatt and his team. I’m looking forward to working with our franchisees and the company operations teams as we work to grow sales and profits,” Christina says. “Our focus is about providing our customers with exceptional service and great food each time they visit. I feel confident that, together, our teams’ efforts and achievements will make our customers proud of their neighborhood Church’s Chicken restaurant.”

Christina is a graduate of Quinnipiac College, where he received his bachelor of science in business management and marketing.